The NBA can be a harsh place. Despite the Cavs impressive 32-4 record on the season, many around the league have doubts about their playoff and title chances.
The Cavaliers proved they were legit after taking down OKC on Wednesday night and snapping their 16-game win streak, whilst increasing their winning streak to 11 games.
But the league has doubts.
“Despite the evidence that suggests Cleveland is a legitimate title contender, skepticism remains across the league about whether it is good enough to break through in the playoffs,” Bontemps said.
“Coaches and scouts point to the Cavs’ depth and frenetic pace — clear strengths in the regular season — as potential disadvantages during the postseason.
“‘I think they’re a really good regular-season team, but when the game slows down and is more targeted, I have some concerns,’ an assistant coach who faced Cleveland recently said. ‘Can Donovan [Mitchell] and Darius [Garland] make a bunch of shots when that happens? That’ll be the biggest question.’”
There is also chatter around Mitchell and Garland as a defensive backcourt.
“Scouts and coaches also pointed to the potential defensive limitations of the Mitchell-Garland backcourt, which teams will target more consistently across a seven-game playoff series,” wrote Bontemps. “One common reference was to Mitchell’s former team, the Utah Jazz, which had a defense built around perennial Defensive Player of the Year favorite Rudy Gobert walling off the paint — like [Jarrett] Allen and Mobley do for Cleveland — to make up for that group’s perimeter deficiencies.”
Before the matchup between OKC, Mitchell got candid about the Cavs and their ceiling.
“We’re playing good basketball,” Mitchell told ESPN, “but can we be this team consistently? Can we be this team when we lose two or three in a row? Can we be this team in the dog days right before the All-Star break?
“How long can we sustain? That’s the challenge.”
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